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I cannot claim to be unbiased—I recently ended a o­ne-year stint at the Myanmar Times—but my bias also allows me a unique perspective.

I worked with Ross Dunkley, the editor in chief, for over a year, and have never heard him say that the newspaper is autonomous. Agence France-Presse refers to the Myanmar Times as a "semi-official weekly" a phrase that Dunkley agrees with, openly. Aung Zaw’s leap from this stance to the conclusion that the paper says it is independent is impressive.

I think that his central complaint that "the paper is not free, although it claims to be", is unfounded. Nevertheless, addressing Aung Zaw o­n his terms I would suggest that half a moon, as they say, is better than no moon at all.

In o­ne of the most isolated intellectual environments o­n earth, the Myanmar Times provides a badly needed dose of international news. It gives a more honest look at the country’s political situation than any other internal publication. The editors are very careful to attribute comments and reading between the lines of the paper can give you an accurate idea of what is going o­n there. In a nation where, literally, annual weather patterns are a state secret, it serves as a paper of record.

More importantly, the paper trains a dozen reporters a year. It teaches them to ask questions, to express themselves in English, to write in a coherent and linear manner. There are more than 50 reporters and editors o­n staff at the paper, all of whom have daily chances to improve their English and have access to information, in a country where the o­nly gifts I was ever asked for were books. The paper employs 300 people a year in a dismal economy. This may not seem like much to Aung Zaw, who gets US $100,000 a year from the US government, but in an economy of Burma’s scale, it is no mean trick.

There is a reason that Ross was "brimming with optimism." He and his team have fought and survived for three years, trying to push the limits of censorship in the country and bringing a nascent publishing industry to new standards. They have engaged.

I would ask Aung Zaw to engage, not to distort. Ross Dunkley is certainly colorful but an apologist he is not.

Kimberly Fielding
New York [Top]

Dunkley: Burma’s Tokyo Rose

September 26, 2003—Ross Dunkley seems to be the o­nly person who does not realize his magazine is funded by the SPDC. He is a paid mercenary and is no different than "Tokyo Rose."

I am not surprised that Dunkley called for an end to sanctions and the resumption of foreign aid. I am not surprised that he suggested Khin Nyunt needed a 100-day honeymoon period. What I am surprised of, however, is that BBC journalist Larry Jagan thinks Khin Nyunt is a "moderate" who will restore freedom and democracy in Burma.

There are no "moderates" in the Burmese leadership. I am in full and complete agreement with Madeleine Albright’s recent statement that the Burmese regime "has no intention of changing o­n its own."

Dictators do not voluntarily give up power. Political change in Burma will have to be forced. We do not need American or UN troops. We simply need weapons and training for 50,000 Burmese freedom fighters. This is the next step after sanctions.

Myint Thein
Senior Advisor to the Burmese Resistance
Dallas, Texas [Top]

Sanctions Push is Counterproductive

September 26, 2003—I agree with Dominic Nardi ("Sanctions are the First Step," o­nline Commentary, Sept 23) that "with the latest sanctions, the US has injected some much needed dynamism into the situation." I fear however that the results may be less helpful than he believes, and may well be counterproductive.

The fact that the US has, at long last, frozen Burmese assets in the US—the EU already did so some time ago—is of no real consequence. I doubt that there have been Burmese assets of any significance in US banks anyway. There is no problem about Burmese individuals and corporations operating US dollar accounts and holding US dollar assets in any country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and indeed in most other countries of the world.